When You Can't Sleep At Night
by Crayola Hearts
Summary: She had stumbled into the living room while her parents were watching a horror movie. An hour before that, she had tried to convince them to allow her to watch the movie with them, stating that she was 'a big girl' and that some 'cheesy nineteen seventies horror flick' wouldn't scare her.


_**Author's Note: **_Yay! Another Oga x Aoi one-shot from me (It's not really something to celebrate but whatever).This one was inspired by the song title _**When **__**You Can't Sleep at Night**_ by _**Of Mice & Men**_. You know that little box a the bottom? Yeah, that one. Type something in it. Don't make me release the Kraken.

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_**When You Can't Sleep At Night**_

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She woke with a start. Sweat covered her entire body, causing her clothes to stick in several places. Her heart seemed to beat a million miles a minute and she trembled as if she had been dunked in a bath of ice water. With a deep breath, she shoved her bangs off her face and took a look at her surroundings. Lamia lay beside her, absolutely obvious to her sudden outburst. On the other side of her, Oga shifted before falling motionless once more.

The ship was dark and the rough outlines of shapes seemed to lunge at her in the suffocating blackness. She had never felt more terrified in her life. Images of a large, horned creature with razor sharp teeth and a hundred tentacles still lingered even after she had woken form the nightmare. It was pathetic, she knew, to be frightened of some fictitious creature of her imagination, but it was something that had haunted her since she was a young girl.

She had stumbled into the living room while her parents were watching a horror movie. An hour before that, she had tried to convince them to allow her to watch the movie with them, stating that she was 'a big girl' and that some 'cheesy nineteen seventies horror flick' wouldn't scare her. She had never been so wrong in her life; even ten years later she was _still_ having nightmares.

But this time had been different.

She couldn't run to her grandfather and tell him about it, or find something else to entertain herself until the images retreated to the back of her mind. This time, she was completely alone in the darkness.

Aoi Kunieda may have been Queen of Ishiyama High, but she was still a teenage girl. Fear was not something she couldn't experience. Suddenly she felt as if she was six again, clutching her covers as she hid from the darkness. The dreams were always the same; she was alone in an abandoned school. When the monster attacked her, she'd run away only to find her parents at the end of the hallway. Each time she would right into their arms, and each time they would begin to morph into horrid monsters before her eyes.

A steady stream of tears began trailing down her face as she took a shaky breath. There were few she could not best in a fight, but the strongest and most cunning opponent she had ever face was her own mind. No amount of training would help her to defeat it.

A movement to her right startled her. She barely contained the shriek that threatened to tear from her lips. A loud yawn cut the through the eerie silence. Oga sat up and rubbed his eyes. The clouds moved, allowing pale moonlight to peek through the large glass windows. It was enough to illuminate the cabin.

Seeing that she was awake, Oga turned to her.

"Hey, Kunieda, what are- are you alright?"

A look of worry crossed his rough features as he caught sight of the tears streaking down her face. She looked every bit of the word 'terrified'. It was an odd sight to see one of the strongest people he knew look so weak and helpless.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, "Y-yeah. I-it was just a nightmare."

"Are you sure?" he asked and yawned again, "you look pretty frightened."

"Yeah…i-it's just a repeat of an old dream of mine." She replied.

A sigh escaped his lips as he reached up and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry, I'm here."

_He's half asleep…he has to be. _She thought, her face burning at the comment. _Oga wouldn't say something like that if he weren't, would he?_

Aoi felt a tugging on the hem of her shirt. Looking down, she found Baby Beel gazing up at her with tired eyes. He snuggled against her, cooing sleepily. A small smile touched her lips as she reached down and held the child against her chest.

"I think Baby Beel's saying the same thing," she commented.

Oga grunted in reply, "Go back to sleep, Kunieda."

As she settled back down, Beel still wrapped in her arms, she felt herself being pulled against something hard, but strangely warm. Her heart seemed to stop as realization worked its way into her mind.

She was leaning against him.

Carefully, she turned and looked behind her. He was already dead asleep; she could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She felt uncomfortable, but that discomfort faded as fatigue took hold of her conscious. It was replaced with a feeling of contentedness and a strange sense of security.

He had absolutely no clue what he was doing to her.


End file.
